Chapter 87 - North Rabbit

Chapter 87

Evanjeline shook her head fiercely.

‘No, that can’t be. If it wasn’t my fate to become the heroine, then why would I have possessed her?’

She tried hard to console herself.

But the person beside her offered no help whatsoever.

“What happened, Eva? Your reputation has hit rock bottom!”

The one spouting these unpleasant words was a man who was practically already buried.

“You boasted loudly at the banquet that you would help me, so I kept waiting at the Empress’s Palace. Do you have any idea how awkward it was when you ran off to the Marquis of Ruth’s residence and left me behind?”

Naturally, the person now beside Evanjelin was Ludwig.

Having arrived at the Marquis of Ruth’s residence not long ago in a near-wreck state, he was now in a fairly presentable condition.

This was thanks to Evanjelin skillfully coaxing him, promising to help him reclaim the Duchy of Delphin, if not the throne.

It was understandable that he had regained his confidence and vigor.

But as his strength returned, his bad habits inevitably resurfaced.

‘His habit of blaming others and trying to crush them when things go wrong hasn’t changed. He was always harsher towards the weak, ready to trample them at the slightest opportunity.’

She hadn’t expected him to show that attitude towards her.

Until now, Ludwig had always been like that only towards Hilia.

This meant one thing.

‘He thinks I’ve fallen that far.’

A terrible sense of humiliation chilled the blood in her entire body.

While Evanjelin was recognizing reality and sinking into gloom,

Ludwig interpreted her silence differently.

He thought she was cowering, unable to offer an excuse because it was the truth.

This only made Ludwig’s demeanor grow even more arrogant.

“You boasted so loudly to me, didn’t you? That Hilia was nothing special. That you could win me over, huh? What happened, Eva.”

“…….”

“And… even from a distance, I saw it too. Hilia that day.”

Evanjelin raised her eyes to look up at Ludwig.

Ludwig, looking towards the imperial palace as he recalled the memory, did not sense the murderous intent emanating from Evanjelin.

“She was truly beautiful.”

The Dragon’s Eclipse was visible to almost everyone in and around the imperial capital.

Naturally, Ludwig had also rushed out in surprise and witnessed Hilia.

Ludwig forgot his own situation, and even the secret purpose for which he was hiding in the Empress’s Palace, for a moment.

He was simply spellbound by the overwhelming beauty of Hilia before his eyes.

The Milky Way embroidering the night sky shimmered brilliantly around her.

The Moon and Star Tiara shone dazzlingly amidst Hilia’s pink hair.

It wasn’t just the tiara’s beauty that suited Hilia.

Its value and meaning also matched her perfectly.

‘Yes. No other woman seemed more suited to be the Crown Princess than Hilia.’

Ludwig stared at her transfixed, unconsciously reaching out his hand.

At that moment, he had to grit his teeth seeing Arpad holding her in his embrace.

‘Again, snatched away again!’

Even though he had never truly loved her, Ludwig felt a terrible, unbearable regret at having lost Hilia.

Especially now that he realized how valuable a jewel was once you had held it and then had it taken away.

He now began comparing the two women, in reverse of before.

‘Looking back, I don’t know why I was so blind to Evanjelin. Hilia is prettier in appearance too.’

He thought he must have been bewitched by something.

The value of the Marquisate of Ruth and the Duchy of Delphin were incomparable.

The only thing Evanjelin had over Hilia was having the Empress as her backer.

‘And that Empress has now had her authority stripped and is under house arrest.’

Because she tried to harm Hilia and failed.

Once again, anger surged in Ludwig’s chest.

He glared at Evanjelin and thought.

‘If it weren’t for this woman, Hilia would be my wife now. Then it would be me, not Arpad, who had the woman blessed by the dragon.’

Naturally, the position of Crown Prince would also have fallen into his hands.

Ludwig glared at Evanjelin with contemptuous eyes and spoke.

This time, he did not mince words or hold back.

“You’re not even the flower of high society anymore, you’re a laughingstock. Everyone is mocking you. If only you hadn’t seduced me in the first place……!”

Evanjelin couldn’t hold back and retorted.

“What? Do you think that woman Hilia would be in your arms now if that were the case?”

“Of course! That woman was my fiancée! She was mine!”

“She would have been snatched away by the Crown Prince on the wedding day anyway.”

“…!”

Ludwig’s expression twisted.

Evanjelin, who had delivered the pointed remark, didn’t feel particularly gratified or happy either.

Because she was struck by her own words.

‘That’s right. No matter what Ludwig or I did, we couldn’t have stopped Arpad from taking Hilia in a marriage by capture.’

No matter how much she racked her brains, she couldn’t have prevented the two from being united.

Ludwig, who had paused briefly, soon began shouting at the top of his lungs.

“That’s all that knight’s fault!!”

“Knight?”

“Yes! That knight of House Delphin, Bel something-or-other! How arrogant that bastard was!”

“…Sir Beltain?”

“Yes, that bastard!”

Hearing Ludwig’s words, Evanjelin remembered.

Most of the Delphin vassals and employees were under her thumb.

But there were those it didn’t work on, and Sir Beltain was a prime example.

‘Right. I remember. Come to think of it… that man, he was guarding the Artanus Hall.’

Evanjelin asked curiously.

“Come to think of it, that knight, he was in the imperial palace?”

“Yes! Hilia came running like mad and took him away.”

A strange light flickered in Evanjelin’s eyes.

“She came herself to take him?”

While she was turning things over in her head, Ludwig’s venting continued unabated.

“That bastard! His very gaze was rotten! He was always looking at Hilia in a disgusting way!”

An idea struck Evanjelin’s mind like lightning.

‘That’s it!’

At the Artanus Hall banquet, Hilia and Arpad had seemed like an affectionate, loving couple.

Enough to burn Evanjelin’s heart pitch black.

‘…But, the future is unknown to anyone.’

To her original plan of using only Ludwig, Evanjelin added one more means.

* * *

My orders were carried out immediately.

Anticipating possible resistance from the Empress’s Palace side, I sent my ladies-in-waiting, including Isepin and Annie, with an additional command.

“Do not go directly to the Empress’s Palace. Go to the main palace and seek help from the Chief Chamberlain.”

If they bring the Chief Chamberlain himself, or another close aide of the Emperor, the story changes.

It’s no longer a simple power struggle between me and the Empress, but a fight involving the Emperor.

The Empress has already been pushed back by the Emperor once.

She likely cannot afford to overstep again.

And my prediction was precisely correct.

The Head Lady-in-Waiting of the Empress’s Palace, Countess Epial, was brought before me.

Of course, she wasn’t literally bound and dragged, she walked over quietly, but still.

The Empress’s feelings about having her Head Lady-in-waiting taken, and the Head Lady-in-waiting’s own feelings, were probably not so different.

I crossed my legs and adopted a cold attitude towards Countess Epial, whose face was rigid.

Right after the Head Lady-in-waiting entered the reception room, I was newly struck by how much my position had changed.

Without me or any of the palace attendants saying a word, the Head Lady-in-waiting herself paid her respects to me.

She knelt deeply and bowed her head.

“…!”

This was none other than the Empress’s Head Lady-in-waiting.

If I hadn’t defeated the Empress at the banquet, she would never have bowed her head first.

Hiding a faint sense of emotion, I calmly opened the conversation.

“Do you know why I summoned you?”

“…I do not know.”

Her tone, giving short answers, was naturally stiff. As if determined not to yield to me easily.

I asked with a soft smile.

“First, I summoned you out of concern for Her Majesty the Empress’s well-being.”

“…!”

“As I cannot go see her myself due to His Majesty the Emperor’s command.”

Having suffered that humiliation at the banquet and having her authority over the inner palace stripped away, the Empress naturally could not be at ease.

In this situation, my inquiring after the Empress’s well-being can only be interpreted in one way.

‘Your mistress must be seething inside, right? I know all about it.’

Romance, Fantasy,